It’s official, Nigel Lythgoe is returning to American Idol. He signed a two year contract and will once again executive produce the show alongside Ken Warwick and Cecil Frot-Coutaz
Nigel spoke to USA Today and Variety here are the highlights from USA Today and Zap2it:
Nigel tells Variety that he would bring back Paula Abdul if he could, but she’s probably locked into an exclusive contract with CBS. Nigel calls Randy Jackson the show’s “barnacle”. Hm.- “My concerns were over the last couple of years, we’ve lost sight of the fact that the most important people on the show are the young artists. It revolved around Kara coming in to make four judges, which often left no time for them to talk. Then it was about Paula leaving, and then about Ellen joining, ” says Nigel.
- “I’m back because it was tough being away. And it was tough to watch things going down. I was never happy with the four judges, and I was watching the chemistry sort of be lost.”
- But, he would bring in a 4th judge if the chemistry is right (Nigel brings in a 4th guest judge on his other show, So You Think You Can Dance)
- Nigel says: “It isn’t about individuals. It’s about how these individuals sit together, so that when Simon Cowell appeared to turn his back on Ellen [DeGeneres], she lost confidence, and I think the panel lost chemistry. It’s the same when Ryan and Simon were bantering this year. There was no warmth there.”
- “It’s going to have a face lift, but it’s not going to be fundamental change…As it moves forward, I think it has to be spring cleaned, brought up to date.””
- Nigel say that “Idol needs to turn its focus back on the talent and showcase multi-talented performers who can move as well as sing.”
- Nigel “favors updating the semifinals and possibly Hollywood rounds, and says singers should have bigger production values.”
- He doesn’t think there will be guest judges and doesn’t like having mentors every week. Nigel is “not a fan of taking young mentors.” He still loves the bad auditions.
- On Jennifer Lopez. “She’s had a brilliant career. She has been inspirational to so many kids. The credentials are incredible for her to be able to judge anybody. She is one of the warmest people that I’ve met; she’s done So You Think You Can Dance a number of times now. She knows the business and is tough. She’ll be honest about it.”
- On Steven Tyler. “Tyler is a rock legend, and he’s been through the worst part of it, too. I think he would probably be the one I would be interested to turn on to watch, not knowing what he was going to say and where he’s going to come from. As a TV producer, I love that.”
